Oriental Bloom
by Aquila-A
Summary: Impressed with Liberty City's nightlife, Cherlin sets up her own oriental-themed nightclub in the heart of Chinatown, San Fierro with the help of a friend. Includes a few GTA IV era characters in future chapters.
1. Prologue

A/N: First of all, I'd like to apologize if there are any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in this fanfic. Pardon my short range of English vocabulary too. Please note that this fanfic takes place a year after the events of GTA: Chinatown Wars.

**Prologue**

**Chinatown, San Fierro**

A young lady in her early teens sighed as she looked below at the bustling streets of Chinatown through her opened bedroom window. Nothing but boredom filled her mind. Her black, shoulder length hair whipped her face as the wind blew into her bedroom. Anyone who sees her for the first time would've easily thought that she is Chinese if not for her slightly different skin tone.

They're _half_ right.

She is halfChinese and half Italian. Italian father, Chinese mother.

"Hey Cherlin!" a female voice cried in Chinese, "I'm going out to Burger Shot. You wanna come?"

Cherlin glanced at Mei, her Chinese friend who was behind her.

"Not today. I'm tired."

"Wow, you really _are_ bored out of your mind," Mei said, "you're still thinking of your trip to Liberty City? Come on, that was already three weeks ago!"

Mei groaned when Cherlin didn't respond.

"Fine. I'll go alone then."

The room was quiet again. Cherlin turned her attention back to the streets below.

Triads, she grimaced as she saw a pair of Chinese men dressed in black suits roaming the streets. Then she caught a glimpse of Mei's distinctive red and black shirt before it blended into the crowd of people. Cherlin recalled watching Weazel News during her stay in Liberty City- 'triad activity had increased dramatically since last year'.

Mei was right. Cherlin was _too_ impressed with Liberty City. She was easily awed with Liberty City's vibrant nightlife.

Everybody keeps talking about Liberty City like it's the best city on earth, Mei mused to herself as she walked down the street. She wondered what Cherlin did while she was in Liberty City. Probably clubbing all night, Mei thought. She had heard of the some of the famous nightclubs there. What was that one particular nightclub that Cherlin was talking about, Bungalow 9 or something? The last time she heard of the nightclub, it was sold to some Arab millionaire. The previous owner, Anthony Prince, has ties to the Ancelotti crime family.

No matter. The east coast is full of bizarre happenings. In the west coast, the mafia is dominating almost every single nightclub in San Fierro and Mei had gotten tired of it.

The young Chinese lady stopped her train of thoughts when she bumped into the very same triad members that Cherlin had seen a few minutes ago. She looked cautiously around her. Nobody else is here… good.

"Speak," she commanded in Chinese; in a voice so stern that it contrasted heavily with her usual cheerful voice.

Mei is a triad member and she is struggling to keep this a secret from everybody else. She didn't want to smear her reputation as a good, innocent girl. Her cousin heads one of the four factions of the San Fierro triads and that automatically makes her a triad member. Considering the fact that she is a female (blame patriarchy on that); Mei was made a low-ranked triad member. Her position is _slightly_ higher than that of a regular triad soldier and that gave her control over a few triad members; at least over those who are willing to obey her orders anyway. She had seen those smug faces too many times when she attends those family meetings, being the only female member and all.

"We've found an empty place that we thought might be _suitable for your needs._"

"Lead the way."

They led her to a murky building several blocks away. It was well-hidden from the roads and public view. The front entrance was boarded up and Mei climbed through a gap between the wood planks, followed by the two triad members. Not bad, she thought as she surveyed the area. There were a few holes here and there, but that can be fixed.

"All we need is a little bit of redecoration," Mei grinned, satisfied. Everything is going smoothly as she had planned.

"We'll take care of it," one of the triad members said.

A/N: Honestly, I'm _**not **_expecting to get any reviews. I visit the GTA fanfiction archive frequently and I've noticed that it's quite… blank (and by that, I mean that there aren't many new fanfics posted here. The new fanfics, especially if they feature an OC, would be least likely reviewed). There won't be a speedy update on this fanfic either, so if you're interested in this story (which I really doubt), please bear with me. Somehow, I tend to write more when I'm angry, sad or frustrated.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Like I mentioned in the summary, I'm going to add a_** few**_ GTA IV era characters into this fanfic just to keep things interesting. I would like to remind you again that this story takes place a year **after** the events of Chinatown Wars. Some incidents from Chinatown Wars, The Ballad of Gay Tony, The Lost and Damned and GTA IV will also be mentioned throughout the story, so expect plenty of **spoilers**. On a random note, PC and PS3 gamers should be happy because Rockstar Games had confirmed the release of GTA: Episodes from Liberty City for those platforms this coming March. I hope you guys have fun playing EfLC!

For several weeks, Mei grinned like crazy every time she goes home. Cherlin found it slightly disturbing. It wasn't until one day she asked what is wrong with her.

"What's with you? You keep grinning like that everyday," the Eurasian lady frowned at her friend, "are you high on drugs?" she added jokingly. She was perfectly aware of Mei's involvement with the San Fierro triads. Mei just doesn't want to talk about it to her- or to anyone else for that matter.

"What? Of course not!" the Chinese lady chuckled as she slurped up her noodles, chopsticks in hand.

"You're avoiding me again, Mei," Cherlin smiled at her friend ruefully.

The said person set her chopsticks down on the wooden table with a soft clack.

"Cherlin," Mei said in a firm voice, "don't you go to the 'forbidden topic' _again_."

"You can't keep that away from everyone forever. Besides," Cherlin lowered her voice, "it's not like I don't know who you _really_ are."

"What? Me, a triad member? You already knew that a long time ago and you want to talk about it _now_? Besides," Mei said in a carefree manner, "it's not like you're actually _interested_ in what I do… right?"

"Smart," Cherlin said.

"I've a surprise for you," Mei grinned, "Come on, I'll bring you to this new place." That grin…

Her Eurasian friend frowned at her.

-O-

"You and I are the owners of this place," Mei said triumphantly.

She had brought Cherlin to the very same spot that she visited with the two triad members several weeks ago.

"This shithole?" Cherlin said in disbelief as she went on to knock the wooden planks that were blocking the entrance. The planks fell down with a clank as it piled up on the ground. "Okay, I don't know what kind of drug you're taking right now, but this is _ridiculous_," Cherlin laughed.

"I'm _not _taking drugs, Cherlin."

"Yeah?" the said person stopped laughing as she scrutinized Mei's facial expression, "if this is about starting a drug warehouse-"

"Lay off the drug topic, woman," Mei cut her off impatiently, "do you really think I would involve you into _my_ business?"

"Not exactly."

"I was thinking of starting a nightclub," Mei grinned at her friend.

Cherlin raised her eyebrows in anticipation, expecting that Mei would burst laughing at her for taking her words seriously.

"I'm serious. You'll be the owner of this club with me as the co-owner. Fifty-fifty. What do you say?"

"That's pretty generous of you," Cherlin gave her a sly grin.

"Oh yes I am," Mei winked, "and don't fuss about the building not being in a tip-top condition. I'll get it repaired in no time."

I only have to get Cousin Chen's approval now, Mei thought. I'm sure he'll approve.

-O-

A Chinese man in his early thirties sat down on a leather sofa of a lavishly decorated room.

This man is Chen, the leader of the San Fierro triads. It is his job to unite the four families- well, there are only _three_ families remaining now, he thought angrily- under his leadership. The recent attack on one of the triad families, the Fa family, had weakened the triads' overall income- the said triad family controlled two of the major businesses in San Fierro, that's why. No, whoever organized the attack was not only planning to _hurt_ the triads' economic position in the San Fierro underworld. They were planning to _get rid_ _of_ _all of them_. Rumor has it that one of the mafia families in San Fierro was behind the assault on the family. Should he declare war on the Italians…?

Chen's thoughts came to a halt when a triad member stepped into the room.

"Boss? He's here."

Chen almost forgot that he had a meeting with a representative from the one and only local mafia family that wanted a truce with the San Fierro triads: the Delucci family.

"Let him in," Chen ordered.

Upon saying those words, a Caucasian man of Italian descent entered the room. Chen stood up, scrutinizing the man.

"Anthony Delucci- call me Tony," the man shook hands with Chen, the latter looking at him distrustfully. Perhaps Anthony sensed his discomfort because he cleared his throat and said, "My family's decided to make a truce with the San Fierro triads, as you've been informed. I'm only here for that purpose."

His surname's Delucci, Chen thought, he looks no older than me. He must be a relative of the Delucci godfather himself. A high-ranking member of the Delucci family. He's a little too young to be a made man...

Chen nodded slowly.

"We have a good reason for this truce," Anthony continued, "Both sides can gain profit."

"And you expect me to _trust_ you Italians?"

"Trust is not needed in this business, Mr. Chen- commitment is. And incrimination is _unnecessary_."

"Ah, the things that you mafia gangbangers say," Chen laughed bitterly, "No offense, but we _don't_ trust you. Not after what happened to the _other_ triad faction."

At first Anthony considered replying, 'We don't trust you chinks either, so you might as well go and fuck yourself in the head' but he decided that it was a bad idea to provoke Chen's anger at this time, particularly when Anthony himself is unarmed and surrounded by a shitload of triad members. _Bad idea_, alright.

Anthony refrained himself from punching the triad boss in front of him by clenching his fists tightly. He had anger management problems. He couldn't exactly remember what he was mad at last time, but it _certainly_ involved a chair smashing through a window, a person with a broken arm and another person whose dead body was dumped into the Humboldt River.

"We _do not_ have _any_ connections with _that_ incident," he said heatedly. After the incident that wiped out the entire Fa family, it is only natural that the San Fierro triads don't trust outsiders; especially the Italians.

A year ago in Liberty City, in an ironically similar twist, the same thing _almost_ happened to the Liberty City triads, all because of the rumor that the Messina crime family allegedly ratted on the triads.

_Allegedly_.

The consequences were heavy for the Liberty City triads, especially for the Jaoming family. The truce between the triads and the Messinas was broken shortly after Jimmy Capra; a member of the Messina family was shot dead, from what Anthony heard, with the help of some triad member who was idiot enough to believe the rumor. The Messinas declared war on their former ally; and as for the rest of the story Anthony didn't know. He only heard that someone named Rudy D'Avanzo started it all.

"In that case, you'll need to demonstrate your _commitment_ to the San Fierro triads by performing an array of work for us," Chen said firmly. He is not going to let the same thing that happened to the Fa family happen to the rest of the San Fierro triads. _Never_.

Anthony pondered- looks like I don't have any other choice but to follow this guy's orders. Dictatorial asshole.

He'll _have_ to do it, whatever Chen'll tell him to do. He needs to prove to the San Fierro triads that he is trustworthy.

"… Fine. If that is what it takes to convince you," Anthony said, albeit reluctantly.

"We'll discuss on this matter another time," Chen waved his hand dismissively at him.

Anthony left the room looking exasperated.

As soon as the Italian left, Chen's Fruit cell-phone rang and he answered it rather wearily.

"Cousin Chen, I've a great idea," a female voice spoke in Chinese, "You're going to love it."

A/N: I'm beginning to think that the name 'Tony' is overused in GTA. Nevertheless, I think it's a pretty cool name. Again, I apologize for any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with college life and all. Thanks for the reviews, I really, really appreciate it :)

"Damn!" Anthony bellowed, punching the glass coffee table in front of him in an uncontrollable rage.

"Tony, that's another coffee table you smashed this week. I'll have to cut your daily income if this continues," Jason Delucci said in a bored voice- he was fed up with Anthony's daily tantrums.

"It's that triad boss!" the mafia member fumed.

"If you think persuading the San Fierro triads is impossible, then try the LC triads," Jason smirked.

"What's with the east coast triads anyway?" Tony said in irritation as he sat down on the windowsill overlooking the west side of Chinatown. He can clearly see triad members strolling around.

"They're a lot tougher to deal with than the west coast triads. Believe me, I've tried once. The boss, he's _damn_ smart. He can turn you from a nobody into an international criminal in seconds if he wanted to. At the age of twenty-five, he's the youngest one to lead the LC triads, I heard."

"He became a triad boss when he was twenty-five? Who's he?" Anthony asked out of curiosity. A guy like that must be really powerful. Or maybe he's a prick who bribed his way up the hierarchy, Anthony shrugged.

"It's better not knowing, Tony," Jason said cautiously, "I don't want to mess with that guy no more. You've gotten into trouble with the San Fierro triads; you don't go around and create another pool of shit that you can't get yourself out of."

"Okay, man. I'm cool," Anthony gave a small mutter of amusement.

"What was that you were going to talk about?" Jason altered the topic.

"… Right," Anthony sighed, "_he_ wants me to do some jobs for him. Said he couldn't trust us."

"Do it then."

"Do you know how I'll look like, working for the triads? I'll look like a _fucking_ clown!" Anthony said in disbelief, "I thought we were brothers!" he said in mock hurt.

"We _are _biological brothers, Tony," Jason assured his younger brother, "anything that Chen tells you to do, just do it. I promise you, this would be worth it. It's for the family."

"What if he tells me to kill you?"

"He _wouldn't_," the older sibling gritted his teeth at his brother's excuse. He knew that Anthony would be reluctant to work for someone else.

"Look… go and take a walk or something. Now's really not the right time to argue about something like this. When you've cooled down, go and see me."

-O-

"Okay… Can you fight?" Cherlin said, glancing at an application form labeled 'club bouncer' in her hand.

"Uh… uh- no?" a scrawny guy who sat in front of her and Mei muttered stupidly.

"NEXT!" Mei bellowed, "thanks for coming," she added, smiling at the guy venomously. The guy gulped and scurried to exit the room.

Cherlin groaned, exhausted.

The news that there is going to be a new nightclub in Chinatown spread fast. Cherlin and Mei had staged a job interview for potential nightclub employees. They've interviewed around a hundred people- not even one of them passed and got their desired jobs.

"Come on! We've interviewed a lot of people, but not even one single person met our requirements!" the Eurasian groaned, "what's wrong with this town?!"

Mei sighed inwardly, hoping that the next person would be the right one. Apparently, they had no luck in finding the right person.

Number 104- too forgetful, he left his car keys and his wallet on the desk. Nope.

Number 105, too whiny- he kept grumbling and swearing. Number 106 was a bossy female- _too_ bossy for Cherlin to handle, that Mei even considered shooting her if it wasn't for Cherlin's intervention.

Number 107, however, caught their attention.

Cherlin took a quick look at the application form that Mei was holding before turning her attention to the current job applicant who was sitting in front of her.

"What's your name again?" the Eurasian asked slowly. Interviewing people really consumed her energy.

"Ashley. Ashley Butler," she smiled at the two friends. She wore a scarf over her short brunette hair.

Cherlin nodded at her friend- this might be the one they're looking for.

Mei glanced at Ashley's application form, "You're from Liberty City?"

"From Alderney, actually. When I got out of rehab, I tried applying for various jobs around the city but they wouldn't accept me. I was lucky that my… ex-boyfriend was kind enough to give me some cash to move here," Ashley looked down at her feet when she said the word 'ex-boyfriend'.

"Any working experience?" Mei asked.

"I used to work as a bartender at a small bar back in Alderney before my drug addiction."

"We're willing to give you a chance to work for us, Ashley," Cherlin smiled, "you're in."

Ashley's face brightened considerably.

-O-

Anthony was walking around Chinatown. Some of the people there would look at him distrustfully while some would look at him with amusement. Either way, Anthony didn't like it.

Work for the _triads_? Who the hell am I shitting? If _he_ hears of this I'm going to be the laughing stock of the entire family! I'm screwed! I'm _fucking_ screwed!

Just as he was about to fly into a shooting spree, he received an email on his PDA. He read it and cursed.

"Great," he said in a low voice so that the triad members that were standing beside him couldn't hear, "it's that chink again."

The triad members must've heard him insulting their boss, because they laughed and said, "Look, that's the white clown who's _working_ for us! Ha-ha!"

Ignore them… ignore them, Tony…

-O-

"Let's see… we've already got ourselves four bartenders and two security managers," Cherlin wrote on a piece of paper, "we're still missing club bouncers."

Mei started, "I'll see if-" but her cell phone rang at that moment.

"Yeah…? What?" Mei looked uncertainly at her friend before saying, "yes, sure. Goodbye."

"What was that all about?" Cherlin said curiously.

"It's my cousin. He said he found us a club bouncer."

"Well… that's a good thing, right? We don't have to go through all the trouble of finding ourselves one."

"Maybe," Mei said thoughtfully.

Maybe…


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi! After re-reading the first two chapters of this story myself, I admit: it's _boring_ and it lacks action. There's no action in this short chapter, but it'll (at least) arouse your curiosity and excitement.

Early morning.

Tony Delucci made his way towards the new nightclub, the Oriental Bloom, where he was assigned by the head of the San Fierro triads as a club bouncer.

The streets were noticeably empty and the only activity was coming from a few cars passing by.

As soon as Tony approached the nightclub, he was blocked by a triad member.

"And you are?" the triad member asked suspiciously with his Asian accent.

"Tony Delucci."

"Oh, so you're the Italian my boss was talking about," the triad sneered, "welcome to the club," he greeted him in a mocking way.

Anthony made sure he threw a nasty glare at the triad before entering the club. The triad laughed in response and gave the finger to him.

Tony stepped impetuously into the club, observing the surroundings.

Two paintings were hung on the wall. One is of a young Asian lady in a black traditional Chinese dress and another one of what he guessed to be a Eurasian lady in a red dress.

Tony turned around to look at a female whom he noticed bore a striking resemblance to the Eurasian woman in the portrait.

"Hey," Tony grinned, "this ain't such a bad place, y'know? I'm impressed."

"Thanks," the woman laughed, "I'm glad you like the feng shui of this club."

"You Chinese?" Tony asked, confused.

"Half," she said, "you?"

"Tony Delucci."

"Tony?" Mei appeared from the other side of the club, "My cousin sent you here."

"Yeah, I know," Tony raised his eyebrows.

"You'll start tomorrow," Cherlin stated, "you can tour around this club if you want to."

Tony's response was, "Nah, I think I've seen enough here."

Both women nodded, sensing his reluctance to work for them. It wasn't his choice to work at a triad-owned nightclub.

-O-

The grand opening of the club was all crowded and cheerful. Of course, as expected, there were club crashers lurking in the crowd of people…

A seedy-looking man walked behind a woman and said, "Hey there pretty lady, wanna dance?"

"No, thanks."

The man grabbed her and she shrieked for help.

Tony approached the man and said slowly, "Hey pal…"

The intruder turned around hastily, "Who the fuc-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence because Tony punched him hard in the face. The intruder fell unconscious as Tony dragged him along the floor by the collar of his shirt to the back entrance of the club.

"I can get used to this," he mumbled, "oh yeah…"

By the end of his shift, Tony had thrown out more than twelve club crashers. Not bad for a new nightclub.

He hated to admit it, but he might actually _like_ his new job.

-O-

A black van was parked somewhere near the Oriental Bloom. Inside, a computer is listing the details of the one particular man in the San Fierro Police Department database.

**SAN FIERRO POLICE DEPARTMENT DATABASE**

DELUCCI, ANTHONY 'TONY'

Surname: Delucci

First name: Anthony 'Tony'

Age: 29

Place of birth: San Fierro

Affiliation(s): Delucci Crime Syndicate; recent surveillance revealed him to be working with the San Fierro triads

Criminal record:

2003- Assault

2005- Armed Robbery

2007- Grand Theft Auto

Notes:

Believed to be second-in-command of the Delucci crime syndicate

Has an older sibling, Jason Delucci

Suspected to be involved in a brutal killing in Liberty City where an unidentified body was dumped into the Humboldt river

Currently working as a club bouncer at the Oriental Bloom, a nightclub believed to be run by the San Fierro triads

-O-

Four in the morning at Jason Delucci's place. His brother Tony should be working at the Oriental Bloom.

However, Jason wasn't exactly alone.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, Rocco… how long have you been here? I heard you had some problems with someone in Liberty City?" Jason answered sleepily.

Correction: "I heard you got owned by a gay fag in Liberty City?"

Really, for fuck's sake, Jason nearly shot Rocco dead when he knocked his door at _three in the morning_. _Seriously_.

"Forget why I'm here," the person named Rocco said, "I'm offering you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to side yourself with me. ME!"

Lo and behold, the _great_ and_ brave _Rocco Pelosi; former high-ranking Ancelotti family member who was screwed over when he tried to kill the famed Tony Prince. Fearing for his life, he flew out of Liberty City to Vice City before heading for San Fierro- which is a rational thing to do- he'd heard that Luis was after him.

Rocco knew very well what Luis is going to do to him if they ever meet again. Just hearing the news of Ray Bulgarin's death made him shiver- he _knew_ it was all Luis' handiwork.

"You're just being paranoid, that's all. You don't need my help."

"I'm _not_ scared of some Dominican guy, alright?" Rocco bellowed, though his face was clearly showing fear.

_Fucking hypocrite_, Jason thought.

"Okay, cool down, man. Why don't you-"

But Rocco had already lost his patience and stormed out of the room with a loud slam of the expensive mahogany door.

"Dammit," Jason blurted out.

What the hell is Rocco Pelosi doing here in San Fierro? The last time he went here, Jason _almost_ ended up in prison for a drug deal gone wrong.

Jason shook his head.

This ain't gonna be good, he mused.

… I'd better tell Tony about this.

Little did he knew, Tony was just outside of the apartment when Rocco went out.

"Ah, Tony! The very man I wanted to see," Rocco greeted (though notably with an air of superciliousness), "how you doin', eh?"

"Rocco," Tony glared, "what are you doing here?" he asked cautiously. Whenever Rocco's around, bad things are bound to happen.

"Whoa, harsh!" Rocco said mockingly, "So I heard you've been working with those… _china-boys_?"

"And I heard you fled your ass up to Vice City when things went 'boom' in Liberty City. What, the Ancelottis don't have insurance to cover your puny ass?" Tony replied smartly.

Rocco's haughty face scrunched into a contemptuous expression.

"Watch that mouth of yours, Tony."

Tony shrugged and walked away.

A/N: If this chapter got you questioning about what will happen or who'll appear next, then it has done its job. More GTA IV era characters are coming in the next few chapters, so stay tuned! You can PM me if you want to know who those characters are ;)


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